The Black Campbell

Here is another battlestar group for your roleplaying game’s fleet (and the one we’re using in our campaign.)

The flagship for Battlestar Group 55 (BSG-55) is the Minerva-class battlestar Pleiades, and she is usually deployed with a pair of Berzerk-class gunstars, two Vanguard-class assaultstars, and a Demeter-class tender.  Like Galactica, Pleiades must retract her landing pods for FTL jumps — her FTL sinks are spaced far and the displacement bubble generated is not large enough to handle the pods otherwise.

BATTLESTAR PLEIADES

SHIP DATA:
Class: Minerva     Length: 4777.7′     Beam: 1742′     Draught: 841.5′     Decks: 30     Scale: Spacecraft     Crew: 1500 standard, 10,000 max

ATTRIBUTES:
Agility: d4     Strength: d12+d4     Vitality: d6     Alertness: d8     Intelligence: d8     Willpower: d10

Life Points: 26     Armor: 6W, 4S     Initiative: d4+d8     Speed: 5 [SL/JC]

TRAITS: Formidable Presence (d4), Viper Construction Facilities (d4)

SKILLS:  Heavy Weapons d6, Mechanical Engineering d4, Perception d6, Pilot d4

ARMAMENT:  Heavy Skirmish Range Point Defense System  (d12W Planetary-scale ), 32 Capital-range Heavy Railguns (d12+d2W Spacecraft-scale), 22 Short Dradis-range Heavy Missile Systems (d12+d4W Spacecraft-Scale), 12 Long Dradis-Range Nuclear Missile Systems  (d12+d8W Spacecraft-scale)

AUXILIARY VEHICLES:  110 (4 squadrons and 10 spare) Mk VII Vipers, 25 Raptors, 10 Marine Landing Shuttles, 3 standard shuttles, assorted work vehicles

Orthographics by tanj from scifi-meshes.com.  See more of his spectacular work there.

ASSAULTSTARS DEMOSTHENES and HEKTOR

The Vanguard class is an older model, the original models as old as thirty years in service, but they are nearly all still active as of the attacks. They carry up to a battalion of Colonial Marines for up to three months, which can be deployed using specialized Marine Landing Shuttles (uparmored standard shuttles.)  The MLS can carry 25 marines and either a tank or two APCs or CAWS, or 50 marines in a drop.

SHIP DATA:
Type:     Assaultstar/Escort     Class: Vanguard     Scale: Spacecraft     Registry: DD-72     Length: 1867′     Beam: 360′     Draught: 377′     Decks: 13     Crew: 270 standard, plus up to 500 marines

ATTRIBUTES:
Agility: d6     Strength: d8     Vitality: d6     Alertness: d8     Intelligence: d6     Willpower: d8

Life Points: 16     Armor: 4W, 4S     Initiative: d6+d8    Speed: 6 [SL/JC]

SKILLS:  Heavy Weapons d4, Mechanical Engineering d4, Perception d4, Pilot d4

TRAITS:
Lucky Ship [d4] (for Demosthenes.)

ARMAMENT:  Heavy Skirmish Range Point Defense System (d12W Planetary-scale ),  7 Short DRADIS-Range Medium Railguns (d10W Spacecraft-scale),  12 Short DRADIS-Range Medium Missile Systems  (d12W Spacecraft-Scale) *Can be fired from Railguns.

AUXILIARY VEHICLES:  10 Raptors, 6 Vipers, 10 Marine Landing Shuttles, can carry 10 tanks, 20 APC or CAWS, or a combination for landing with the MLS.

HISTORY:
Demosthenes is part of BSG-55 (Pleiades), but is often released to detached duty for search & rescue and smuggling interdiction missions.  “Old D” was constructed in 35AC, and is one of the older vessels in her class.  She has a reputation for being “lucky.”

Demothenes is the design and property of Rick Snider.  You can find this and other examples of his work on scifi-meshes.com.

GUNSTAR HERAKLES and MEDEA

Berzerk-class gunstars act as protection for main-line battlestars like Pleiades.  These are relatively modern assault craft and require a fairly small crew.  Their computer systems are fully up to date, complete with the Command Navigation Program (unlike the older Vanguard class), and Mk VII vipers.

SHIP DATA:

Ship Class: Berzerk     Ship Type:  Gunstar Escort
Length: 2779.6′     Beam: 709.5′     Draught: 389.4′     Deck: 16
Crew: 600 standard [Includes 90 pilots, 20 marines]

ATTRIBUTES:

Agility:    d6     Strength: d10     Vitality: d6     Alertness: d8   Intelligence: d6     Willpower: d8

Initiative: d6+d8     Speed: 6 [SL/JC]     Life Points: 18     Armor: 3W, 4S

TRAITS:

SKILLS:

Heavy Weapons d4, Mechanical Engineering d4, Perception d4, Pilot d4

ARMAMENT:   Medium Point Defense System [skirmish-range, vehicle-scale]:  d8, Vehicle-scale]; 22 Heavy Railguns: d12 [short DRADIS range, spacecraft scale]; 32 Heavy Missiles: d12 [short DRADIS, spacecraft scale]

AUXILIARY CRAFT:
20 Vipers, 20 Raptors, 10 Shuttles

Lieutenant Marie “Three Point” Auram

Born 27AC in the “Great City of Lydisius” on Virgon, Marie is the second daughter and fourth child to Robert and Caroline Auram.  Her father is an architect of note in the city and her mother an artist of some quality and little note.  Her eldest brother, Robert Jr., works for her father, and her elder sister, Elise, is a union representative for the Virgon Teacher’s Union.  Her younger brother is a contract pilot for Intersun, flying space liners.

Artistic as a child, Marie paints, draws, and is frequently working of crafts.  Somewhere in her childhood, she started building models with her brother Jean.  Her favorite subjects for modeling were past and current aircraft.  She was a gregarious child and was popular in school.  Marie dated both boys and girls in school, having lost her virginity to her best friend Alyssa when she was thirteen.  While mostly heterosexual, she is very attracted to the female form.

She attended the University of Virgon’s illustrious School of Art, with a minor in astronomy.  While there, she modeled semi-professionally.  She also had her first serious relationship with another art student, Don Loga, whom she subsequently binned after a spectacular threesome for the girl they were with, Rachel Nyes.  That relationship didn’t last long, but they stayed friends.  When Marie graduated 49AC, she surprised everyone by joining the Colonial Fleet…and not even on the usual reservist list.
Raised in one of the most beautiful cities on Virgon, Marie is not the usual military-type: she is fond of fashion, has good taste in food and drink, and is an inveterate sunbather.  But Auram had always dreamed of flying something fast and dangerous, and requested pilot training.  She was commissioned after OCS on Picon, and directed not to combat flight training she desired, but to Raptors.  Somewhat disappointed, she nevertheless threw herself into the training.  Her basic flight skills were top notch for a nugget, and she earned the name “Three Point” for her consistent ability to bring a bird in on all skids, every time.  She aced her navigation and electronic operations courses and was finally released into the fleet at the end of 51AC.

She was assigned to the aging Atlantia as part of the Raptor squadron.  She had been aboard the ship for only six months, but quickly gained a reputation for her skill and recklessness.  Auram did so well, she was sent to Delphi’s Combat Flight School in 52AC.  She returned to the fleet as a viper jock on Pleiades, doubling as a raptor training officer.

Her gutsy style and skill has made her one of the ship’s top pilots, and her sexy, playful good humor make her popular with officers and deck gang, alike.  (The player chose Monica Vesela as the face for the character.)

Agility: d10   Strength: d6   Vitality: d6   Alertness: d10   Intelligence: d8   Willpower: d8

Initiative: 2d10   Life Points: 14   Endurance: 2d6   Resistance: d6+d8

Age: 25   Height: 5’4″   Weight: 125 lbs.   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown

ASSETS:  Allure d4 [sexy, more than beautiful], Dogfighter d4, Lady Luck d4, Talented ECO d4 [adds to Tech Engineering/DRADIS and /Electronic Warfare]

COMPLICATIONS: Allergies [mold & mildew] d2, Dull Sense [smell] d2, Gloryhound d4, Wise Ass d4

SKILLS: Artistry d4, Athletics d4, Covert d2, Discipline d4, Guns d4, Influence d6, Knowledge d2, Mechanical Engineering d2, Perception d6, Performance d2, Pilot d6 [Raptor d10, Viper d8], Planetary Vehicles d2, Science Expertise d2, Survival d2, Technical Engineering d6 [Electronic Warfare d8, DRADIS d8], Unarmed Combat d2

Corporal Artemesia Vasco

Artemisia Vasco is the only daughter and youngest of six children to Fred and Madeline Vasco of Turbury-on-Ayl, a small farming community on Arelon.  Born in 32AC, she grew up in a small, quaint village where much of the land was owned by rich men and companies, and most of the people worked the fields and never got more than 20 miles from their home.  As a girl, she dreamed of getting away from the boredom and poverty of her home, where her father worked twelve hours a day in the fields, and her mother tended bar at the local pub.  The only girl in a household of boys, she grew up a tomboy.  She enjoyed sports, liked to wrestle, fight, hunt, fish, and otherwise carried on in a masculine fashion.
Always pretty, she quickly filled out at puberty,and took an immediate interest in boys and frequently entertained herself in fields, barns, and anywhere else she and her latest boyfriend could be alone.  She had a close call at fourteen, but the pregnancy failed in the first month.  She has since been on birth control.  When she was seventeen, bored with school and looking for a way out, the Colonial Marines recruiter came through Turbury.  The day after her graduation from school, she was on a train to Arelon City to the MEPS for her swearing in, and the next day reported to basic training at Sandy Downs on Arelon.

Her father had always told her Artemis had given her a gift: long-sight and a steady aim.  Starting with bows and light rifles when she was young, Artemisia has been shooting since she was a little girl.  In basic training, her tomboy nature came in handy and she excelled in hand-to-hand combat, basic rifle marksmanship, and getting into trouble by having “four feet in a two-foot rack.”  She was given follow-on training as a sniper at the CMC training grounds on Leonis and is a qualified sniper and spotter.

Her first assignment as a marine was in battlestar Atlantia.  Easily bored and a bit lazy, she was soon getting into trouble by sleeping late, making herself scarce when off duty, or fraternizing.  Despite this, her work on search and rescue teams, disaster relief, and other missions allowed her to advance to squad leader and corporal by the time of the Cylon attack.

Vasco is a tough, brash, and somewhat crass woman.  She is a complete hedonist, and is fond of good food, drink, clothes, and sex.  Brave and adventurous, she is willing to fight hard, but she is lazy when it comes to work and things that don’t interest her.  (Player chose Giuliana Marino as the face.)

Agility: d10   Strength: d6   Vitalty: d6   Alertness: d10   Intelligence: d6   Willpower: d6

Initiative: 2d10   Life Points: 12   Endurance: 2d6   Resistance: 2d6

Age:  20   Height: 5’6″   Weight: 118 lbs.   Hair: Brown/Auburn   Eyes: Gray

ASSETS:  Allure d4, Athlete d4, Sharp Sense [Sight] d4, Talented Sniper d4 [Rifles and Perception/Tracking]

COMPLICATIONS: Lazy d4, Loyal d4, Lustful d4

SKILLS:  Animal Handling d2, Athletics d6, Covert d4, Discipline d4, Guns d6, Heavy Weapons d4, Perception d6, Planetary Vehicles d4, Ranged Weapons d6, Survival d6, Unarmed Combat d6

Captain Gaius “Professor” Horvath

Born in Delphi, Caprica in 22AC (After Articles of Colonization), Gaius is the oldest of two boys to Zacarius and Melina Horvath.  He grew up in the second largest city on Caprica and the seat of military presence on the world.  His father is an admiral in the Colonial Fleet and commander of BSG-55 (Pleiades group.)  His mother is a respected lawyer and professor of colonial law at Delphi University, where he would later school.
Both boys, Gaius and his brother Augustus (Gus), grew up without the pampered background of other wealthy families, but he did reap the benefits of a classical education at Delphi Academy – one of the finest private school on Caprica.  He excelled in various sports, but was particularly good at Pyramid – enough so that he won a scholarship, despite his family’s means, to Delphi University.

At college, his main course of study was military science, with a minor in literature.  He finished his basic degree with firsts in classic literature and history.  He continued to his master’s degree in political science at Caprica University, with a specialty in interplanetary security.  After he graduated, most expected him to continue into government.  Instead, he joined the Colonial Fleet as a reserve officer and trained as a flight officer at Delphi, finishing basic flight near the top of his class.  Nicknamed “Professor” for his intelligence and higher education, he was considered by some an elitist snob, but his winning personality and good-humor won him more friends and admirers than not.

He continued to advanced combat training and in 48AAC, he was graduated into the fleet.  His first assignment was aboard Atlantia as a junior lieutenant and Viper jock.  He trained on old Mk II’s, but aboard the flagship of BSG-70, he flew Mk VII’s – the finest space superiority fighter ever made.  He quickly made friends amongst his fellow pilots, and drew the attention of Admiral Nagala himself.  He was promoted to full lieutenant a year later – very quickly!  By 52AC, he rotated onto reserve duty.  It took him three months to realize that he missed the excitement of flying vipers.  His father pulled strings and got him assigned to Pleiades, his father’s ship.  He was promoted to captain and made a squadron leader.

Smart, savvy and charismatic, Professor is a popular officer.  His weaknesses lies mostly in his grandstanding and overconfidence, which have more than once nearly splashed him.  However, he has always managed to pull his fat out of the fire.  A natural leader, most of his peers expect one day he might be an admiral.

When off-duty he can often be found reading, and he is fond of showing off his knowledge to anyone who will listen.  He is a connoisseur of fine wine, whiskey, food, and women – he has a long line of lovers –  and he is particularly taken with the technology and tactics of the military.  His love for his Viper is almost unnatural.  He calls her “Galatea”, after the statue in the Pygmalion myth – more to humor those who think him a bit too fond of the plane.  (Player chose Casper van Dien as the face for the character…)

Agility: d8   Strength: d8   Vitality: d8   Alertness: d8   Intelligence: d8   Willpower: d8

Initiative: 2d8   Life Points: 16   Endurance: 2d8   Resistance: 2d8

Age:  30   Height: 5’11”   Weight: 190 lbs.   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Blue

ASSETS:  Advanced Education d4, Dogfighter d4, Good-Natured d4

COMPLICATIONS:  Gloryhound d4, Overconfident d4

SKILLS:  Athletics d6 [Pyramid d8], Discipline d6, Guns d4, Influence d6 [Leadership d10], Mechanical Engineering d2, Perception d6, Pilot d6 [Viper d10, Ship Cannons d10], Planetary Vehicles d4, Technical Engineering d4, Unarmed Combat d4

This week I’ll be posting some character portraits from our Battlestar Galactica campaign.  The initial series are from the “second fleet” group (we also had a ground group that will be posted later.)  Enjoy…

Admiral Zacharias “Zack” Horvath

Born 3BAC (Before Articles of Colonization) in Argus, Libran.  He is from a famous line of Libran politicians.  His father was Ferenc Horvath, defense minister of the world prior to the First Cylon War, and later Quorum member.  His mother was a lawyer of some note.  He grew up during the Cylon War.  Five years after the war, he joined the Colonial Fleet and attended Delphi Military Academy on Caprica.

He served as a fighter pilot from 19-26AC, rising quickly to major.  During his time at DMA, he met a Caprican law student, Melina, and married before his first duty assignment.  A son, Gaius, was born in 22AC, and Augustus followed in 26AC.   He attended the War College at Picon HQ, then followed it up with three years at the Defense Ministry HQ on Picon.

Horvath was CAG for the battlestar Galactica from 30-32AC.  He was operations officer in Athena for two years and became colonel and XO for the small batlestar Bellerophon in 36AC.  He succeeded to command of the vessel in 40AC, then took command of the battlestar Acropolis in 45AC with the rank of commander.  In 48AC, he was promoted to rear admiral and took command of the Delphi Spaceport and Colonial Military Base, where he remained for three years.  He took over Pleiades group in 52AC.

Admiral Horvath is a 33 year veteran of the Colonial Fleet and an inveterate politician.  He is known for his connections, savvy, and his rivalry with Fleet Admiral Nagala.  Horvath is a big man, and incredibly strong, with a reputation for his martial arts skill.  At the time of the attacks, he is 55 years old.  (The player chose an older Dolph Lundgren for the look.)

Agility: d6   Strength: d10   Vitality: d8   Alertness: d8   Intelligence: d10   Willpower: d10

Initiative: d6+d8   Life Points: 20   Endurance: 2d8   Resistance: d8+d10

Age: 55   Height: 6’4″   Weight: 230 lbs.   Hair: Dirty Blonde [greying]   Eyes: Blue

ASSETS:  Brawler d4, Formidable Presence d4, Political Pull d6, So Say We All d4, Tough d4

COMPLICATIONS:  Competitive d4, Duty d6, Gloryhound d4, Prejudice [civilian government] d4

SKILLS:  Athletics d6, Covert d4, Discipline d6 [Leadership d8], Guns d6, Influence d6 [Administration d8, Bureaucracy d8], Knowledge d2, Melee Combat d4, Perception d6, Pilot d6 [Vipers d8], Planetary Vehicles d4, Survival d4, Technical Engineering d4, Unarmed Combat d6 [Kickboxing d8]

These wee beasties showed up in Razor, and  thought it was time they got some stats for the Battlestar Galactica RPG.  I looked over the orthos from Eric Chu and it seems all the heavy ordinance is on the weapons/launch pod amidships.  There are eight launch pod-looking greebles on either side of the flight line, aft and fore, and dual barreled railguns on the top of the pod, as well as two forward-facing cannons. There are four turret-like greebles on the head of the gunstar, as well, but they look most likely to be missiles turrets, rather than railguns.  I didn’t include them in the current specs. The big barrel-looking thing on the underside I assumed was a retrofire reaction system.  Feel free to fanboy it into a massive supergun, or something…

The Berzerk-class gunstars act as protection for main-line battlestars.  These are relatively modern assault craft and require a fairly small crew.  Their computer systems are fully up to date, complete with the Command Navigation Program (unlike the older Vanguard class), and Mk VII vipers.

SHIP DATA:

Ship Class: Berzerk     Ship Type:  Gunstar Escort
Length: 2779.6′     Beam: 709.5′     Draught: 389.4′     Deck: 16
Crew: 600 standard [Includes 90 pilots, 20 marines]

ATTRIBUTES:

Agility:    d6     Strength: d10     Vitality: d6     Alertness: d8   Intelligence: d6     Willpower: d8

Initiative: d6+d8     Speed: 6 [SL/JC]     Life Points: 18     Armor: 3W, 4S

TRAITS:

SKILLS:  Heavy Weapons d4, Mechanical Engineering d4, Perception d4, Pilot d4

ARMAMENT:   Medium Point Defense System [skirmish-range, vehicle-scale]:  d8, Vehicle-scale]; 22 Heavy Railguns: d12 [short DRADIS range, spacecraft scale]; 32 Heavy Missiles: d12 [short DRADIS, spacecraft scale]

AUXILIARY CRAFT:  20 Vipers, 20 Raptors, 10 Shuttles